Habiibii
by Murphy8370
Summary: Ardeth meets a woman he can't live without, but she leaves before he can stop her Will he find her before the bad guys do? And how will he react when he finds out that she is the reincarnated wife of Imhotep? Warning: Mature Content in First Chapter.
1. Egyptain Curses

The night was warm, with star twinkling high in the velvety black sky, Ardeth sat atop his horse and watched the stars as he rode into a small town. He needed to be alone, away from the strictures of his responsibilities, they would ride to Hamanaptra tomorrow night. Ardeth was 34, he was younger than most Med-jai chieftains but he felt like he'd lived a hundred years, he felt tired and alone.

"You are my good friend." He whispered to his horse.

He came closer to his destination, he looked up at the sky and tried to forget himself, he listened to the sounds of the night. The scent of exotic flowers filled the air, and sounds of crying babies waned in the distance. Ardeth lifted his hood and pulled it back from his dark hair, he dismounted easily from his Arabian and patted his neck lightly, the horse snorted and pushed his face against Ardeth's. Ardeth laughed softly and gave the Arabian a carrot.

Turning away from the horse, Ardeth walked towards a shabby looking building and opened the door. Inside the room was dimly lit but cool, Ardeth looked around and nodded at several men who seemed to know him. Only a few women stood around the room, dressed in sleeveless dresses the reached the floor, they hung on men, using their feminine wiles to convince them to come to their beds.

"Hello, my Arabian prince." Said one of the women to him in Arabic.

He peered at the woman and shook his head.

"I am not interested." He replied in Arabic.

The woman harrumphed and left him, he walked to what seemed to be the bar and sat on a stool, a man strode over to him and poured him a glass of something. Ardeth didn't argue. He drank from the glass and placed it back on the bar, he didn't look around for a few moments, just placed his head in his crossed arms and tried to relax.

Moments later he heard a crash from the front of the room, he picked up his head a looked to the front. He frowned when he saw a gentleman manhandling a young lady dressed in breeches and a white cotton shirt. The man had his hand wrapped around her upper arm and was dragging her to the front of the bar.

"Release me right this minute!" she demanded in English

"Shut up." One of the gentleman said

"I will not! How dare you speak to me in such a manner!"

One of the man pulled an object from his pants and showed it to her, she quieted instantly, Ardeth saw the glint of a small dagger in the man's hand. Ardeth's body went alert…. In more ways than one.

The woman was young, with long brown hair, from where he sat he could see the glint of red highlights in her hair, her eyes were a smoky green and glittered with unshed tears. Her face was well developed with a small nose and well shaped eyebrows, her lips were pink and plump, she ran her tongue over her lips nervously. Ardeth stared at the woman, he could tell that she was not from the desert but her skin was tanned, she was British from her accent with warm Arabian tones like she'd been her a long time.

The woman looked to him and he saw the fear run through her eyes then disappear, she hiked up her chin and walked with the gentleman.

"I will escape you, barbarian." She whispered to the man

"We shall see."

Ardeth looked back to his glass and looked into the warm amber fluid, he couldn't remove the image of her face, looking at him. He sighed and stood up, showing his scimitar and he whirled around and looked at the man. The man was looking away.

"Prepare to fight." He said in Arabic to the man

The man whirled around and looked at him.

"Mind your own business." The man replied

"I cannot."

"Fine. Then I'll help you." The man said

The man came closer, his large body forcing a crowd that had gathered to separate. Ardeth pulled his scimitar from it's sheath and relished in the _shing _it made as it came out, the other man frowned then smiled and pulled a sword of his own out. Ardeth nodded and waited for the man to attack, he released the woman but tied a rope around her wrists and to a chair, she tried to kick the gentleman but all she gained was a light punch in the stomach that forced her to her knees. He heard her moan loudly.

Ardeth was the first to make a move, the man feinted to the left then parried with his own move, forcing Ardeth back into the bar. Ardeth came forward and thrust his sword forward, the man feinted to the right this time and thrust his sword forward, Ardeth deftly stepped to the side and waited for the next move.

The man tried again to thrust his sword forward, Ardeth stepped again to the right and waited, scimitar posed. Ardeth stepped forward with his sword, the man caught his sword his Ardeth's, they both heard the screech of metal against metal.

Ardeth pushed into his scimitar, the man backed up. The man smiled and twisted his sword out of Ardeth's hand, the sword fell to the ground and slid out of his grasp. The man dropped his own sword and reached for Ardeth, he stepped to the side just as the man came too close. Ardeth deftly kicked him behind the knee and watched him fall to the ground, the man quickly got up and followed Ardeth.

Ardeth turned his hip to the side just as the man tried to through a punch at his midsection, Ardeth pulled a small dagger from the man's pants. He held it up to the light. The man caught Ardeth with a left hook, Ardeth fell to the ground and looked up at the man. He caught the man in the stomach with his feet, pushing the man back towards his table, the woman squeaked. Ardeth stood and looked at the man who appeared to be stunned, Ardeth frowned, then the large man fell to the ground, a knife protruding from the back of his neck.

The woman stood behind him, her hands were covered with crimson red.

"We must leave." He told her

She nodded. He came over to her and untied her wrists, he took her hand and pulled her away from the man lying dead on the floor.

"Who are you?"

"Cassandra." She muttered

"My name is Ardeth."

Ardeth pulled her out of the building and picked her up to place her on the front of his horse, she opened her mouth to protest then saw men coming after them and thought better of it. He pulled himself up behind her and clicked his heels into the horse's side, the horse took off at a gallop down the narrow street, leaving a trail of dust behind them. Ardeth felt the woman's warm back pressed against his chest and smiled in the darkness, even being followed by a bunch of men he enjoyed the feel of this woman in front of him.

He smelled her warm hair and was overcome with the smell of lilacs, he sighed silently and rode harder than he had in a while.

They arrived late that night at a cave, it was empty but quiet and far away from the town they had just left. Ardeth's Arabian was tired and out of breathe, Ardeth himself was tired and ready to relax. Cassandra seemed to be more afraid than tired.

"Sit." He commanded her

She didn't argue.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, she nodded

"Were you hurt?" he asked, she shook her head

"I'm sorry." She whispered

He didn't speak for several moments, just stared at her.

"You're hurt." She said to him after a while.

He looked down at himself and saw that a gash had formed across his chest during the fight. He looked back at her, but she was staring at the wound in his chest, she stood up and crossed over to him. He frowned at her and tried to push her away from him but she batted his hands away and was probing the wound. Sharp spikes of pain slid through him but he tolerated it, he could smell her warm clean scent as it rolled off her.

He breathed in her warm scent, wanting to reach out and touch her.

"The wound is superficial, it will scar but you'll be okay for the most part."

"Thank you." He said

She nodded but didn't move away from him. He gave in to his desire and reached out and touched her hair, it was soft and warm beneath his touch, he reached behind her head and pulled her closer, lightly touching her lips with his own.

She didn't fight him, moved closer to him and returned the kiss. She knelt before him, he was sitting on a log before her, she moved the hair from his face and kissed him again. He pulled her up to him and sat her on the log next to him he pulled her close to him and kissed her again, opening her mouth with his tongue. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and heard her moan lightly, he felt her tremble lightly. He moved his hands along her shoulder and down her arms.

Ardeth suddenly stood up, she looked up at him confused, he smiled and shook his head and went to his horse, he pulled a small blanket from his pack and came back to the cave. She watched him with curiosity, he came back to her and held out his hand, she took it and stood up. He pulled her against him and kissed her again, passionately, she moaned when he pulled away from her again.

He walked to a spot in the cave and laid out the blanket motioning for her to come to him, she walked over, doubts clouding her mind. He motioned for her lay down, and she did so. He came down on top of her, he kissed her hard on the mouth, all her doubts floated away on a wave of passion. His hands traced her collar bones, he kissed down her jaw and down to her throat and bit the hollow space in her throat lightly. She moaned.

"You will be mine, for all time." He whispered in her ear.

She didn't say anything, she felt his hands sliding over her breasts, caressing them lightly, he looked down at her and saw the fear reflected in their depths.

"I will be gentle." He said and kissed her eyelids

"I know." She whispered

He moved her hands away from her chest where they lay, he looked down at her and smiled, she offered him a tremulous smile back. He moved the first button out of place, a small triangle of flesh appeared, he moved the rest one at a time, and more and more flesh appeared. He kisses every inch of the exposed flesh, she moaned softly and arched her back, he became more urgent he ripped the black lace bra from her body and kissed her breasts softly. She didn't argue or protest.

His hands moved over her bare stomach, her hands moved to his robes, trying to pull the thick black fabric from his body. Ardeth smiled down at her and pulled the robed from himself, baring his thickly muscled body to her scrutiny, she smiled up at him and her hands deftly moved over his chest, touching the hot flesh but avoiding the gash.

His pants prevented her exploration from touching his thick and hard sex which lay just below the waistband.

"This is my first time." She said softly against his ear.

He nodded and pulled up from her. She lay there, innocently fearful of what may happen.

"I will be even more gentle, my habiibii."

She sighed deeply as he stood back up and shed the last of his clothing, she averted her eyes from his large sex. He didn't force her to look at him merely lay back down next to her and unbuttoned her pants. She turned her head to look at him and found him staring into her eyes, she blinked and smiled at him, she barely knew him and here she was, about to give him whatever she had left.

He then pulled himself over her and yanked her pants down and off her body, leaving her almost naked with her black lace underwear and black silk stockings. He pulled her underwear away from her body and she tensed, closing her eyes against him. Ardeth placed his right hand between her soft thighs and forced them slightly apart, rubbing the tight nubbin of flesh. Her hips jerked up and away from him, she moaned hard and loud, he calmed her hips and began his gentle massage.

She felt one of his long tanned fingers enter her body, pushing against her tight passage, she moaned louder and arched her strong back. He stopped tormenting her body but pulling his hand from between her thighs and pushed her knees apart again placing his slim hips in the cradle of her thighs. She didn't move, merely raised her knees and pulled him down, kissing his lips and stroking his back. He placed each of his strong hands on his hips and pressed his sex against her entrance, she screamed at his light penetration.

"Relax Habiibii."

She couldn't relax with his sex pushing deeper into her body, she scratched her nails down his back, leaving thin rivulets of blood down his back. He smiled and tried to hold himself back from ramming himself into her and risking hurting her badly. He pushed lightly and waited until she could get used to his size inside her, she relaxed slowly so he pushed in further until he touched the wall of her innocence.

"I must hurt you now, Habiibii."

"Just do it." She said

He pushed himself inside her to the hilt, she screamed out in pain and moved her hips to push him out. Ardeth held himself completely still, feeling her tremble beneath him, she moaned in pain and he felt his heart begin to pound.

"I'm sorry, Habiibii."

She didn't speak but he could feel the walls of her sex were convulsing around him and he felt his control slipping. He whispered in her ear.

"You are hurting me!" she said

Shock reverberated through him and lifted his hips to pull out of her, surprise rippled through him as her legs wrapped themselves around his hips. He looked down at her and saw that her passion was back.

"You are hurting me but not moving." She whispered

Ardeth smiled down at her and moved out of her, then slid back home, he looked down at her and saw that he was still hurting her but passion was overriding the pain. He moved again and felt his control slowing moving out of his grip, he began to move with a new urgency, moving faster within her. She moaned louder and stronger, her hands moving down his back and squeezing his buttocks with her palms.

They moved to completion, moving together towards the peak of their excitement, she bit his lip hard and he squeezed her nipples lightly. She arched her back and her ponytail came loose, her hair flaring out around them. She came first, her body flying apart, he moved faster and spilt his seed inside her.

Ardeth laid on top of her, relaxed and warm from their lovemaking. They fell asleep

Morning was coming, Cassandra could smell it on the air of the morning, she moaned at the soreness between her thighs then remembered the glorious night she had spent with Ardeth. She turned and saw his sleeping form beside her, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Good bye, my desert lover."

She quickly stood up and searched the cave for her clothes, dressed and snuck out of the cave, just as the morning was rising on the horizon.

"I need your help." She said to the horse.

The horse seemed to understand her predicament and nodded to her, she moved around the side and pulled herself atop the horse, nudging him away from the cave. As soon as she was far from the cave she galloped away from Ardeth, and the cave where she had given him her innocence.


	2. Home Again

It was morning, Ardeth could feel the humid heat of the desert rolling into the cool of the cave, sweat spread over Ardeth's rock hard body that wasn't only from the heat. He reached over to feel for Cassandra and felt only empty space; he sat up and looked around the cave, only his robes littered the floor of the cave. She had left. Ardeth felt a crushing loneliness as he stood up and picked up his robes and pants, he pulled them on fast, not wanting to be in the cave any longer. He stopped only when he saw the blood of her innocence on the blanket, he stared at it and felt a uncontrollable fear inside him, he missed her already. Beside the blanket was a small silver locket, very feminine with a small tiny silver chain, he bent over and picked it up lovingly. He touched the small heart shaped locket with a plant design on the front, he clicked the clasp and it opened, a picture of Cassandra sat on one side and a picture of a young man sat next to it. The man looked exactly as Cassandra did, the same intelligent eyes and dark hair, Ardeth stared hard at the picture of Cassandra and felt an emotion akin to love flutter in his chest.

She was gone and all he had was a picture, a name, and a memory, never before had he felt these things about a woman, it was strange, and exhilarating. He would leave soon, he would go to Hamanaptra and maybe he would forget the vivid memory of the young woman who had given him a most precious gift.

Cassandra was so close to home, Cairo was only a mile away, one mile till she could relax finally, it felt like her entire body was bruised and battered from riding through the morning and afternoon heat. Her inner thighs were chafed and bruised and the horse wasn't making her ride any smoother, her eyes drooped and her mind wandered. One more mile, she kept saying to herself, just one more mile, her heart raced as her mind wandered again to last night and she felt a delicious heat curl in her stomach. She tried to fight the feeling with the shocking thought that he had been a stranger; he had saved her life not even knowing who she was.

Cassandra smiled in the desert heat, miles of sand all around her, the outline of Cairo shimmering in the distance. Just one more mile, she told herself, one more mile away from her desert lover, and one more mile away from where she left her heart.

The ancient ruins of Hamanaptra were overflowed with men in dark red turbans and lighter colored robes that swirled out around them as they rushed to do their master's bidding. Their master was a tall Egyptian man with dark bronzed skin and a shiny bald head, he wore a black sleeveless shirt and clean cut slacks that fell to just above his ankles where sandals adorned his feet. His name was Khaldun, the reincarnated High Priest of Pharaoh Seti, Imhotep, and he was prepared for the embodiment ceremony to bring back his master.

The smile that passed over the Khaldun's face was one of malicious intent, he meant to raise more than just Imhotep before he gave control of his body to a far more powerful man. As a gift to Imhotep he would find the reincarnated body of his wife Hatshepsut, as a form of sacrifice, his plans would come together nicely.

"Sir." A young Med-Jai said.

"Yes?" he said his eyes pouring over the plans of Hamanaptra by candlelight.

"General Akins wishes for me to give this to you." The man-boy said

Ardeth took the note and waited for the boy to leave, he unrolled the small scrap of rough paper and looked at the note in Arabic.

ارديث الرجل قد غزت هامانابترا ، نحن بحاجة الى مساعدتكم. مع الاحترام ، اكينس

Translated to English it meant:

Ardeth, Men have invaded Hamanaptra, we need your help. My friend, Akins

He stared at the note for several moments, weighing the decisions in his mind as to what he as going to do, it was too early and time weighed heavily on his mind.

"Anzety!" He cried out

A tall man with flowing dark brown hair stepped into the tent, he looked at Ardeth in silence.

"Tell Ghassan that we are mobilizing our forces to Hamanaptra, it is urgent."

"Yes, Sir." He said in a solemn voice and he too left the tent.

Ardeth stared at the map before him, worn and faded at the edges, it was one of the oldest maps he owned, and the most used. Lines of many different colors spread over the surface of the map, dancing along the corners of the map then becoming thick as the lines came closer to the heart of the city. At the bottom of the map was a small signature, barely legible to many people's eyes, but the Med-Jai touched the signature lovingly, it said Hatshepsut. Long ago she had been married to Imhotep but she had rebelled and had begun to make maps as a way to escape her life with the High Priest. She was said to be a virgin, even in marriage, for she denied Imhotep because she found that he loved another, Anuck-su-namun.

It was also said that she found a great love in one of the Pharaoh's Med-Jai, a young man called Harith, the son of a Ploughman but the grandson to one of the great Med-Jai chieftains. She died at age 20 after Harith was poisoned by Imhotep, the same night that Imhotep was put to death. It seemed a large melodrama of events, everything twining together to make a clear picture.

"Sir?" came another voice from the entrance of his tent.

"Yes." He said as patiently as possible

"There is a message sir." He said steadily

"From who?"

"Passing Med-Jai in Cairo by the name of Rick."

Inwardly Ardeth laughed. "What is his message?"

"He said he saw your Arabian, answered to his name and all. He said that it was in the shade behind an apartment building."

"Did he see a young woman with him?"

"No sir."

"You may go." He said, his heart pounding

They had found her. "Wait." He said

"Yes, Sir."

"Tell Rick to talk to the owner of the building. I want to know who lives there."

"Yes, Sir." The man left

He was going to find her a little ahead of time, he smiled to himself and continued working on his maps.

Cairo seemed to be moving very slowly to Cassandra as she and the horse moved among the crowds of sellers and buyers, she walked slowly so that she could savor the wealth of feelings that spread over her. She looked around the city and smiled as Americans tried to speak Egyptian and failed to grasp what the others were saying. She took a deep breathe of the humid, moist air and felt it slide along her windpipe and fill her lungs with warmth. Various scents bombarded her senses, exotic food and potent cologne from the young men passing by, the fresh smell of clean laundry and the muddy, dirt smell of the little boys and girls that ran by.

Sweat collected on her brow as she watched life move and gyrate around her, it slid down her cheek and tickled the end of her chin, she swiped it away carelessly. Her eyes roamed over the brilliant and vibrant colors of cheap fabrics and the dull yellow color of the sand that lay hot underfoot, cool air radiated from some of the tall buildings that lined the narrow streets and brushed her skin lightly. Goosebumps flashed over her skin.

Brash voices yelled louder to be heard over the heavy din of the city, assaulting her ears, she smiled in return. She almost passed her apartment building in her distracted state, she bumped into an older woman and stopped for a moment to apologize. The woman nodded and snuck off into the shadows, Cassandra checked her pockets and pulled out her wallet, she smiled again. It felt good to be back in Cairo.

Her apartment building was a short, slender brick building with three floors, each of those floors belonged to one person. The bottom floor belonged to Cassandra, the second floor belonged to another American, Hayden, and the third floor belonged to a reclusive native, who rarely left his apartment for any reason. Dusty windows glared down at her, some windows closed, others open, she could see that Hayden had gone for work already.

"Come on." She said to the horse, lightly tugging on his reins.

The horse followed behind her to the back of the building, nudging her back every once in a while, she giggled softly and tugged him to a cooler shady spot behind the apartments. He instantly kneeled on the hot sand and nudged her hand with his soft brown and white nose, she brushed his nose, feeling the soft fur beneath her hand.

"You were great." She said to the horse "Now let me get you something to eat." And walked away towards the back door.

Inside her apartment was cool and dark, the familiar surroundings of her world a comforting sight, and she closed her eyes against the sensations. Cassandra opened her eyes and walked to the small white refrigerator, a rarity, and opened it. Inside was various cans of soda, a container of leftovers, a bag of green and red peppers, carrots and celery. She pulled the bag of peppers and the carrots and celery from the fridge and dumped them into a large tin bowl, she took another bowl and flicked the sink on, rusty water spurted out then clear cool water poured out, she place the bowl beneath the sink and filled the bowl.

When she was finished with all this Cassandra walked back outside and served the bowl of veggies and the water to the horse, which lifted chocolate brown eyes to her. She stayed near the horse for several moments, patting the soft fur on the top of his head, she smiled down at the horse then walked back to the apartment. Her apartment itself was small but lived in; the kitchen and the living room were separated by a large island in that jutted out from the stove. The kitchen was sparse, a stove, a fridge, and a few clashing cabinets, but Cassandra noticed nothing as she made her way to the bathroom. The bathroom was the same small room with a connecting door to the bedroom where she slept, she immediately stripped the grimy white shirt and matching undershirt.

Underneath her shirt she was naked, having her bra being torn the other night by Ardeth, she moved to pull the belt from her pants, yanking it away from her body then stripping her pants from her body as well. She stood naked before a body mirror, she examined her skin, a few light bruises spread over her stomach and the faint sight of blood between her thighs. She thanked whatever god was in the world for being alive and well, she then turned her back to the mirror and peered at her back. Scars rippled over the skin and moved as her muscles tensed and relaxed, jagged and white they were noticeable on her tanned skin.

She turned away from the mirror and walked to the shower, she pulled back the curtain and saw that a black scorpion was crawling around in the tub section.

"Ewww." She said disgustedly and walked to the bookshelf in her bedroom

She pulled a large thick black book from the shelf and walked back into the bathroom, and dropped the book on top of the scorpion, crushing it under the weight of the book. Cassandra pulled the book away and placed it on the counted, careful to place it face up with scorpion on it. Inside the tub were the remains of it. She turned on the shower and washed it away, then stood inside the shower, feeling the cool water washing over her hot skin. She moaned softly to herself, and closed her eyes, wringing out her hair as it fell down her back.

Cassandra took the soap from the wall and began to wash the dirt away from her skin, washing away the evidence of her night with her desert lover. Tears formed in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks and melded with the water of the shower.

After her shower, Cassandra walked with a towel wrapped around her body to the bedroom where she pulled a soft cotton nightgown and yanked down on her body. It was still evening, but all Cassandra could think about was sleeping, she pulled the warm coverlet away and slid into bed. She fell instantly asleep.

When she awoke it was dark outside, thick inky darkness spreading across the sky, her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since yesterday at Lunch. She pulled the coverlet away from her body and slid out of the bed again, her body felt hot all over as walked to the door. She didn't even notice the man in the doorway until he had wrapped his hands around her mouth, effectively stifling her scream.


	3. Lost and Found

_Ardeth _

Two days had passed before he got his message from Rick, only it wasn't just a piece of paper with the information on like Ardeth expected, no, Rick, Alex, and Evie all came to give it to him personally.

"Ardeth, long time, no see."

"It is good to see you as well, Rick and Family."

"I talked to the owner like you asked me."

"And?"

"A Miss Cassandra Tanner."

"Ahhh… good."

"Good? Don't your people frown upon horse stealing?"

"And she shall come to her punishment in the most interesting of ways."

"That doesn't sound good."

"It does. For me at least."

"You're not going to hurt her are you?" Evie said.

"No."

"Want to elaborate?"

"No."

"You still going to Hamanaptra?"

"Yes."

"Can I come?" Evie asked.

"No." Rick said before Ardeth could answer.

"Rick, you really should stop with overbearing rudeness."

"No."

Ardeth smiled as Rick and his beautiful wife squabbled. "It's a battle to protect."

"Hamanaptra?"

"Yes."

"Interesting."

"We've experienced a Hamanaptra battle before firsthand and unfortunately we were on the opposite side, and I happen to know that I would rather be with him than against him. So let's just stay here, or go back to the hotel and do something safe…. Like dust fossils."

Evie harrumphed and left the tent.

"We are leaving tonight, my friend, and then I am going to get this woman and my horse."

"I have a feeling that there's something you haven't told me yet."

"This woman, Cassandra, she is the one."

"_The _One?"

"Yes."

"How the hell did you meet her?"

"Most unconventionally."

"And?"

"And nothing."

Rick turned away, laughing and left the tent, Ardeth smiled and began to prepare for battle.

_Cassandra _

She was scared, frightened would be more the word for it, her hands and legs were tied, she was gagged and blindfolded, but she had no idea what was going on. Cassandra thought that she must have a concussion, her head ached and she felt dizzy but she knew that she had to keep her mind clear. She knew she was on a horse, she could smell horseflesh and could hear the huffing breathe of it. Her body was bent over in front a man, or atleast she thought it was a man, her stomach ached and her hips hurt from the harsh ride every time the horse moved the air in her lungs was forced out. She could barely breathe.

"We are here." Someone said, it sounded like a man.

"Take the woman and tie her to one of the pillars until nightfall."

"No, Khaldun desires her presence in the main tent."

"Fine, take the woman."

Suddenly Cassandra felt light, someone was picking her up, hands were all over her body as she was being traded from one man hands to another, she struggled for a brief moment before being slapped hard across the face and dropped on the ground. Her head ached worse and her body took a jarring, her cheek stung from the impact of his open hand, but she no longer struggled, soon she was being thrown over a man's shoulder and taken away. Soon she found that she was in a cooler area, the tent perhaps?

"Did you get the woman?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. My plans are coming together nicely. Tonight we will begin."

The blindfold was ripped away from her face along with the gag, light flashed and pain spiked inside her head, she looked away and put a hand to protect her eyes. She found that her hands and feet had also been untied, she struggled for a minute to stand, her legs were numb, needles of pain ripped down her legs making her knees buckle.

"Ahh, dear, dear Cassandra."

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"I am Khaldun and you are in Hamanaptra."

"That's impossible, it doesn't exist."

"Ah, but it does. You see?"

"No. I Don't see. I don't see why I'm here or why you brought me here or anything. I don't see anything damn you!"

A hand struck her from behind, forcing her to her knees.

"I would watch what I saw, Cassandra. I've a mind to feed you to my men."

"What does that mean?"

"I think you know what it means, they haven't had a woman in a long time, I might even join them."

"You are disgusting."

"And you are a fool."

A/N: I know it's kind of short but I will think of more the next time around.

Please Review I welcome all reviews although so think, if I don't like it, I will hunt you down and you will be doomed lol. Jk jk jk.


	4. Back from the Dead

Sit?" Khaldun said, gesturing to a chair across the table from him.

"No, thank you." She growled, the winced when a man placed a knife to her back and forced her to sit across from him. "Don't mind if I do."

"I do hope your comfortable with the surroundings."

"Whatever."

Khaldun sighed and glared at her, but Cassandra wasn't looking at him, instead she was looking at an unusual map that lies in front her, it appeared to be very old but very well made. Curiosity makes her look more thoroughly at the worn map, Egypt is written very carefully across the top in hieroglyphics, the writing is slightly blurred and faded with time.

"Do you like it?"

"Where did you get it?" Cassandra said with awe in her voice.

"Museum."

"It's…. amazing."

"The wife of Pharaoh Set's High priest made that map."

"The Virgin Wife." She said softly.

He didn't reply for a very long time. "I wonder…"

"What?" she said still peering at the map.

"Are you still pure?"

Cassandra's head shot up and she looked at him with a frown. "Pure? Still?"

"Yes. Although I assume you know nothing of your past life."

"Past life? There's no such thing."

"Of course there is."

"You're crazy."

Khaldun laughed. "Many have said so." He stared at her again.

"Come here." He beckoned.

"No." she said with authority.

"Now." His smile slowly faded.

"No."

"You will obey me." His face became serious.

"Never."

Suddenly he stood, the chair that he had been sitting in flew back and crashed into another table, his slammed his fists down on the table and stared at her.

"You will learn to obey orders when they are given."

Cassandra said nothing, but continued to sit in her seat, looking serenely at him.

"Come. Here. Now."

"No."

Khaldun took a deep breathe then slowly walked around the table, Cassandra assumed his intention and shot up from her seat, slowly backing away from him, he took another step forward, intending to cut her off. The chase ended quickly when Cassandra tripped on the soft pallet and fell onto her back, Khaldun leapt on her, pinning her easily to the ground.

"You will submit."

Cassandra struggled with the hands that pinned her wrists down and the large heavily muscled body that lie on top of her, Khaldun laughed and leaned forward.

"No!" she yelled and twisted her head to the side.

His hand touched her cheek and took her chin into his palm, with more force than necessary he stilled her twisting and forced her to look at him, his eyes were almost black with rage. Khaldun smiled and leaned forward once more, capturing her lips with his own, Cassandra screamed in her throat, using all her strength to push him off. His tongue traced her lips and she almost gagged.

"Let go!" she screamed when he came away.

His lips descended and took hers in a far more bruising kiss, forcing her lips open and thrusting his tongue into her mouth, Cassandra reacted and bit into his tongue, relishing in his scream of pain before he yanked himself up and away.

"You bitch!" he said and raised his hand.

A resounding crack filled the room as his hand connected with her cheek, pain exploded and lights flashed before her eyes, she barely felt when his fist connected a second time.

"No." she moaned as he pulled up with hem of her nightgown.

"Sir!" a man yelled from the tent entrance.

"Not now!" Khaldun said, jerking her gown further up.

Fear boiled in her veins.

"Sir! You told me to tell when they were finished."

Khaldun's questing hands stopped and mid calf and dropped away.

"Another time, my sweet."

"No." she moaned again.

"Soon, Hatshepsut, very soon."

"What did you call me?"

His weight came off of her and Cassandra shot up from the pallet, she looked at him with a mixture of confusion and fear, Khaldun smiled and disappeared behind the flap of the tent. Immediately after he left Cassandra jerked the edge of her gown down over her legs, hiding the carefully concealed blade strapped to her thigh with a thin piece of leather. Time was now of the essence, she had until the sun went down to escape, from there the night would cloak her so that she may return to her apartment, with plans forming in her head she waited.

Ardeth, Sundown 

Ardeth signaled his men to go down, they would have to cloak themselves with the night if they wanted to attack with the element of surprise, over the hill he could see figures patrolling the area with guns strapped to their waist or on their shoulders. Fortunately those weapons weighted them down making them easier to attack, he waited until the sun slinked over the horizon before joining the men, there was no time for mistakes. Slowly on a horse he had borrowed, he made his way to the bottom of the hill, staying close to shadows in order to stay hidden. At last he made the signal to attack.

Cassandra 

Something was going on outside, she could hear the roar of guns firing rapidly not far from where she stood in the tent, now was the perfect time to escape while something was going on outside, with deft moves she yanked up the hem of her skirt and pulled the knife from the thin leather strap. She made quick slashing movements with the knife and cut through the thick canvas making a strangely rectangular doorway in which she could attack.

"Quickly! She's escaping!" Came a voice from behind her.

She didn't waste any time looking back but dashed through the opening, she hit the ground hard and fell sideways on her ankle, pain spike through her leg as she tried to stand once more and ran towards the horizon away from camp. Voices yelled all around her, screams penetrated the air, the roar of machine guns and horses filled the air, smoked curled in the air as tents burst into flames, Cassandra limped away from the tent as fast as she could, ignoring the cries of surprise and pain around her. Suddenly she was airborne, a large arm was wrapped tight around her torso and yanking her onto what felt like a horse, her body was pulled sideways onto the horse against a man's chest.

"Let go of me!" she screamed and fought with the arm that held her tight.

The man said nothing but rode to the outskirts of the battle, they didn't get far before Cassandra elbowed the man in gut, the man's arms loosened around her waist and she fell from the horse onto the hard ground. The horse shied and came up on it's rear legs, Cassandra rolled and found herself beneath the horse's hooves, one of the hooves hit her in the chest, forcing the air out of her lungs, the other hit her high on the leg. She couldn't move the pain was so great, it felt as though her body had been ripped in two, someone scooped her up and held her against their chest, she looked up and found two familiar brown eyes looking down at her.

"Ardeth?" she said softly.

A loud roar suddenly filled the air, Cassandra turned her head to find Khaldun standing at the entrance to the tomb, the man stared at her with an intensity that made Cassandra want to get farther away.

"Hatshepsut!" he yelled, pointing at her. "Get them!" he said in Egyptian.

"Imhotep." Ardeth whispered.

"No, his name is Khaldun."

Ardeth looked down at her and frowned then turned, pulling himself and her onto the horse.

"Fall in!" Ardeth yelled.

TBC

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	5. Warriors and Maidens

Pain sliced through Cassandra's chest as she leaned heavily on him, her face was turned sideways so that her cheek touched the rough black material, his arms were wrapped protectively around her back.

"Thank you." She whispered as a single tear slid down her cheek.

"Shhh, conserve your strength."

Careful of her chest and leg Cassandra snuggled closer to him and closed her eyes, she had a hard time relaxing though as they rode through the desert on horses her mind was filled with too many things for her to relax. The man, Khaldun, had called her Hatshepsut, not once, but twice, what did it mean? And what did he mean by past lives? Surely there we're no such thing…. A memory came to Cassandra suddenly, the map in the tent had had a name on it, was it possible that the map and the name the Khaldun had yelled out were connected? Cassandra pushed those thoughts away for inevitably they led to his hands on her; Cassandra shuttered and leaned into the warmth of Ardeth's body.

"Are you okay, Habiibii?"

"Yes." She murmured. "Where are we going?"

"Not much farther, there is a camp, then from there we shall go into a town just south of Luxor."

"I need to go home…"

"Don't worry about it right now, just rest."

She nodded into his robes and closed her eyes once more.

He hadn't lied when he had said they would be at the camp soon, almost 20 minutes after he had said it Cassandra could see tall tents on the horizon, the heat of the afternoon wore off as the sun slid down the sky bloodying the sky and soon the cool of the night swirled around them. They arrived at the camp with people crying out their praise, she wondered who this man who had held her so intimately two nights ago and held her so gently tonight, was. Ardeth dismounted still holding Cassandra in his arms, she didn't struggle as he carried her to his tent and laid her lovingly on a thick pallet, his hand reached to the bottom of her gown, her hand shot out and wrapped around his wrist.

"No." she said with fear in her eyes.

"You check my wounds two night ago, let me do that same for you, Habiibii."

She looked at him with trepidation but loosened her hold on his wrist, he pulled the gown up over her thigh and looked at the horse hoof shaped bruise, it was a discolored purple and blue color and rose up like a welt. Carefully he placed a hand over the flesh, heat radiated from the wound.

"I will get a salve." Ardeth stood and walked to the opening of the tent. "I need salve!" he yelled in Arabic.

Ardeth stepped back into the tent and went to her side pulling the gown further up her body, he sucked in a breath as he looked at the array of fresh wounds, a long cut slit up the left side of her ribcage.

"Stop!" she said, pushing his hands away as he pulled the gown up farther.

"Rohi, stop, I must see all the wounds."

"My lord." Two men stood outside the entrance of the tent.

"Leave the salve and towels at the entrance."

"Sir."

"Habiibii, you must turn on your side."

"Let me do it!" she said when he left and returned with the towels and salve.

"What are you afraid of, Rohi?"

"Nothing!" she said quickly.

"Fine, I will salve the wounds I can see." He compromised.

She nodded and laid back down on the pallet, carefully he dipped two fingers into the salve and pressed the cold potion to the bruise on her leg, she hissed and closed her eyes. Slowly he moved his hand over the bruise, rubbing it into the wound, her leg jerked and twitched beneath his gentle ministrations. Distractedly he moved his hand down her thigh to her knee, feeling her supple silky skin, leisurely his hand moved downward to her calve then to her ankle. Pleasurable ripples drifted through Cassandra, candlelight played over his dark features and shadowed his eyes, his hand moved upward to her thigh once more and massaged the soft inner thigh.

"More." She whispered, forgetting herself.

His dark amber eyes looked at her with indefinable emotions, his hand stilled for a moment before moving to her stomach, dipping his fingers into the salve and spreading it over her lower ribcage. Ardeth used both hands over her stomach, still kneeling at her side, she sat up slowly stilling looking in his eyes.

"Habiibii." He said softly before leaning forward and taking her lips in a kiss. "Don't leave me again."

Cassandra moaned and kissed him back, to be honest she had missed him even after only two days and now all she wanted to do was to fall back on to the pallet and feel him over her once more. She felt his lips trace hers and was assaulted by the memory of Khaldun, she shivered and pushed the memory away, knowing that it was Ardeth kissing her, Cassandra opened her mouth and felt Ardeth's tongue sweep into her mouth. Pleasure burned in her blood, to anchor his lips she gripped the long silky brown hair that curled at the collar of his robes. She stared into his eyes and felt her heart race inside of her chest, his hands touched her waist hesitantly and pulled her calmly into his lap, and Cassandra moaned again and pressed her barely clad body against his.

"More…" she moaned. "… I need more."

With enthusiasm Cassandra ripped the front of his robes open and touched the hot flesh of his chest, Ardeth moaned and tipped back his head to give her better access, she pressed a kiss to his throat just above where his pulse beat. Tenderly she slid a finger around one nipple, the sensitive skin reacted instantly and hardened, his hand slid down her waist to her hips curling each finger into the soft, pliable fabric of her underwear. Another bout of searing white hot pain flashed through Cassandra and she cried out, instantly aware of her pain Ardeth lay her back down, his hands touched her forehead.

"The wound! I'm sorry…" he whispered. "Bandages."

As if nothing had happened Ardeth called for bandages and returned to the warrior that Cassandra had seen earlier.

"Who are you?" she asked with awe, trying not wince at the pain.

"Shhhh." He crooned. "Save your strength."

"It doesn't hurt!" she lied. "I don't need to save anything!"

Pleasure and passion mingled with the painful throbbing in her side, Ardeth smiled and pushed her down onto the pallet taking the bandages from the man who had entered the tent a few moments before.

"Thank you. You may leave." He ordered and turned back to Cassandra.

"It doesn't hurt." She tried to convince Ardeth.

Dark, almost black crusty blood had dried to her skin and the wound had since stopped bleeding but Ardeth was concerned with the pain that still plagued her, carefully he probed the wound. Fresh blood bloomed from the wound but not enough to be concerned about.

"We'll have to stitch it closed." He announced calling for a curved needle and fresh black thread.

"No!" she cried and tried to sit up once more.

"Relax, Habiibii. Everything will be alright."

TBC  
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	6. Just for the Night

Ardeth worked diligently, sowing the wound in her side with precise stitches even though he had never really done it before, she grimaced a few times but never once cried out, he wondered at that.

"I'm almost done." He said softly, putting her at ease. "I just have one more stitch."

"Okay." Her voice was strained and tense, her body stretched tight as a bow.

Cassandra didn't relax, even after he had pierced her skin for the last time but remained tense until he completely pulled away from her, she visibly relaxed only a little then turned so she lay on her back once more. He looked down at her, his eyes lazily searching her blank expression, not once when he was stitching up the wound had she cried out or complained about the pain. His Habiibii was stronger than she looked, far stronger than he would have given credit for.

"I was surprised to see you there."

She tilted her head. "I was just as surprised to be there, I assure you."

It was his turn to tilt his head, but this time in question. "You were kidnapped?"

"Yea." She said softly. "That man, Khaldun, he needed me for something, but I'm sure what. I didn't even know the guy but he seemed to know me."

"Khaldun? I heard you say that name before, when we were riding away."

"The man who stood at the front of the temple, his name was Khaldun."

"Impossible."

Cassandra frowned. "I can assure you it's not… sir." She added emphasis to the sir at the end. "Actually people are named very strangely everyday."

Ardeth leaned forward. "But his name isn't Khaldun."

"Of course it is that's what he told me it was."

"Are you sure?"

Her expression turned angry. "What are you getting at?"

Ardeth frowned deeply. "Getting at?"

"It means 'What do you mean?' or 'What are you trying to say?'"

"Oh."

She waited a few moments, watched him as she sat there, digesting what she had said. "So?"

"Well… it's complicated, you see, in this time his name may very well be Khaldun but…." He trailed off.

"What?"

"In another time this man named Khaldun was called Imhotep."

Cassandra tried to restrain a laugh. "You mean, the High Priest to Set?"

"Yes." His face was dead serious.

"You're kidding."

"No."

Now Cassandra was concerned, this was not a man to joke but what he was saying was so far beyond her comprehension that it couldn't be true, could this man be crazy?

"Are you crazy?" she said aloud before she could stop the words from spilling out.

Ardeth frowned at her, his face become dark with anger. "Crazy?"

the side of her head.

"You know, Looney, a little strange in the head." She tapped

"I am aware was the word Crazy means."

Cassandra fell silent, now she knew that he had faith in reincarnation and many different lives, she also knew, somewhere in the back of her head, that this man was not crazy in any shape, form, size, or weight crazy. He was 100 lucid, which made believing him that much harder to do, not that it really mattered to her, she had a life to live that didn't involve this horribly intriguing man that roused her passions like no other could. She had people who depended on her and this…. Whatever it was, was interfering with that.

"Well, it was nice to see you again, but I really have to get home."

Cassandra sat up to try to get up but found his arm a deterrent.

"Stay." Was all he said.

"I would really love to stay, but I have to be getting home, I have….things I need to attend to."

"You won't be able to ride a horse this late at night, not only that but the wound in your side will open if you leave, you must stay for at least the night if not the week."

"A week? Are you kidding? I have to get home." she feared that her voice was becoming more and more whiny.

"Just for the night then."

In protest she opened her mouth but found his lips upon hers once more, her world began to spin, everything around her lost focus until all she could see was the man, all she could feel was his lips on hers, all she could smell was him, horseflesh and heat, masculine musk and something darker, all she could taste was his eroticism, his darkness and light. She felt dizzy when he pulled away and looked at her with dark, indefinable eyes.

"Just for the night."

"Fine." She said in a soft whisper. "But just for the night."

Ardeth laid her out on the pallet, being careful of all her wounds as he pulled the blanket up and around her then around himself as he laid next to her, she could feel the heat that rolled off him as he laid one massive arm on her waist and tucked her close to him.

"I missed you, Rohi."

She wouldn't say it, she couldn't…. "I missed you too." She whispered before her eyes drifted closed.

_Middle of the Night_

Something was moving beside Ardeth, he could feel a small figure tossing and turning in his arms but he couldn't quite identify what it was, the movements were just enough to wake him but not bad enough that he couldn't sleep through it. He realized quite suddenly when a hand shot out from beneath the blanket and smacked him firmly in the face that the tossing figure was that of Cassandra. She was moaning and writhing in sleep, sweat clung to every part of her small lithe body, he wondered if she were in the throes of her woman's passion but decided quickly that all was not well.

"Cassandra?" he asked softly.

She answered by moaning louder and flinging her arms around as if trying to fend off an imaginary captor, he took one wrist into his hand and tried to soothe her by crooning softly near her head. She didn't seem to know that he was there, either that or couldn't wake up from whatever nightmare held her in it's clutches.

"Cassandra?" he said louder.

Still she did not wake up, and did not stop flinging her limbs around like an octopus, Ardeth grew worried when she did not awaken the fourth or fifth time he called her.

"Cassandra?" he yelled.

He took both her wrists in one hand and touched her forehead, she was burning up with fever, unable to control what her dreams brought her, which meant that he had to pull her out and soon.

"Cassandra? Wake up! You need to wake up!"

TBC

What a horrible place to stop! Oh well….

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	7. Nightmares and Dreams

She remembered the way his hands had felt on her body that night, so smooth with slight calluses on the inside of his dark palms, she remembered his hands gliding over her waist and stomach, touching the soft curls at the juncture of her thighs, she remembered his lips, touching, tasting. In her dream she was back there, lying on his blanket on her back while he moved over her, the darkness of the cave and of the night blanketing them both. She could almost feel his body over her, his eyes drilling into her, she could almost taste the sweat that beaded on his hot flesh as he came inside of her. It was then that the dream changed drastically from Ardeth and his gentle loving to Khaldun, instead of being able to fight him like her mind was screaming desperately for her to do she couldn't move, her arms and legs were pinned by a heavy weight.

A scream was caught in her throat and her body felt like it was on fire, her cheek burned with pain from where he had hit her.

"You belong to me, Hatshepsut." He growled.

"I'm not, Hatshepsut!" she screamed at him.

"You belong to me…." The voice was fading but that face was still there, looming over her.

Something was drastically different about this man from the one she had met was that this man was wearing strange make-up and robes that would have been better suited to ancient Egypt than modern day. Fear bubbled up in her chest and threatened to overwhelm her unless she did something, unfortunately nothing came to mind, every nerve in her body was frazzled and shredded and her brain was practically on auto-drive. Already she could feel her mind switching to pure emotion instead of logic, her feelings increased tenfold, the fear and humiliation she was feeling was only bound to get worse.

"Stop!" she screamed.

His hands were touching her stomach through the thin cotton of her gown, his mouth was on hers, grounding hard while his tongue thrust deep between her teeth, his dark eyes met hers and seemed to be taunting her. His hands were nothing like Ardeth His hands were nothing like Ardeth's as they gripped her breasts and moved down her waist to her hips, his lips moved over her jaw to her throat where he bit her hard on the side of her throat. A cry escaped her lips….

Ardeth

"Cassandra!" Ardeth boomed at her.

She was stuck inside of a nightmare that Ardeth couldn't get her out of, he had no idea what had happened to her while she was at the camp but whatever had happened was obviously haunting, her lips were moving with unspoken words, her arms tightly bound to her sides so she wouldn't hit anyone. He touched her forehead again, heat rolled off of her and sweat beaded on her skin, she whimpered in her sleep.

"C'mon Rohi, you can do this. You just need to wake up, Rohi." He crooned. "Wake up, Habiibii."

"Sir?" a man at the entrance said.

"Do you have a cold compress?"

"Yes, sir. And a doctor, sir."

"Bring him in! Hurry."

"Yes, sir!" the man said.

A man entered the tent, he was meagerly dressed and held a leather bag in his left hand, Ardeth had no idea when he had called for a doctor, for moments had melted in years for Ardeth, minutes were like weeks waiting for Cassandra's fever to break. He felt utterly helpless as he looked down at the woman he had come to have feelings for in so short a time, he moved damp hair out of her face again and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Doctor?" he said with impatience.

"Yes, sir. Is this your wife, sir?"

"No." Ardeth said, never taking her eyes off her.

"Then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I'm not leaving her side."

"It's standard…"

"I don't care!" Ardeth yelled. "I am not leaving her side."

The doctor seemed momentarily taken aback but said nothing more, swiftly he opened his bag and pulled out some instruments.

"What are you doing?"

"I am checking her heart rate, I want to be sure what kind of fever she has."

"Isn't one fever the same as the next?"

"No, wounds are more likely to become infected which causes a more severe fever since it is a direct access point into the body, unlike a disease that enters through a system of filters. It takes the body longer to understand what kind of infection it is before it can attack that infection, thusly a higher fever."

"Will she survive?"

"She is young, it is probable that she will survive. Now tell me, does she have an wounds that I should look at?"

"She has a long cut on her abdomen that I stitched up, she has bruises on her leg, and I believe that she may also have a sprained if not fractured ankle."

"What happened to her?"

"It is none of your affair."

"Ardeth…" Cassandra moaned.

"Cassandra?!" Ardeth looked back at Cassandra and crooned to her some more. "Everything's alright, Habiibii."

"He's…. here….." she whispered.

"Who is?"

But Cassandra was quite, her moans and flailing had also ceased or lowered in their intensity, the doctor looked worriedly at Cassandra and pressed a flat object against her chest while placing two buds into his ears. Her heart beat was frantic as it pounded against her chest and her pulse was racing madly, next the doctor placed an object into her mouth taking it out a few moments later and peering at it.

"She is worse off than I thought."

TBC

Sorry it took so long! But it's back and I will write another chapter soon!


	8. Awake and Confused

It was almost an hour later when the doctor finished with Cassandra, carefully cleaning and re-stitching each wound then bandaging her in white linen, he checked her vitals, starting with her pulse by pressing two fingers to the soft underside of her chin. He asked for help only once and that for help washing her in ice cold water to ease the raging fever. She hadn't much sound except for an occasional whimper that ripped through Ardeth's soul like a double edged blade, he brushed away a lock of hair from her pale wan face and light colored lips. 

"How long will she sleep?" he said, not looking away from Cassandra. 

"It depends, some can sleep for days and some can sleep for only hours, and then…." The doctor trailed off, letting his hands fall to their sides. "…some never wake up." 

"What do you mean by that?" 

"For some the trauma is too great and they never recover, it's difficult to tell what she will be though. She's sustained a great amount of trauma and yet she seems to be healing well enough." 

"What is your opinion?" 

"She is young, and resilient, I have no doubt she'll survive." 

Ardeth nodded. "Thank you, Doctor." He turned to the doctor and held out his hand. "You are more than welcome to stay the night if you so desire, I know that the hour is late." 

"Thank you, I think it would be best if I stayed, I'll need to check on her in a few hours to make sure her vitals are stable." 

The doctor placed a reassuring hand on Ardeth's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "She'll be fine." 

Ardeth still worried though, anger seeping into his system making it difficult to see straight without imagining his hands around the throat of Imhotep, not that it would do much good. Questions plagued his mind, poisoning his thoughts. Why had Cassandra been there? And who was the man she called Khaldun? Had he been the one to hurt her? Also, the biggest of his concerns, Imhotep had been brought back to life for the third time, what did this mean? And why? And then finally, what did Cassandra have to do with Hatshepsut? Thought after thought tumbled through his mind, clouding his judgement, there were things that had to be thought out but in his current state it was almost impossible. He barely noticed when the doctor left, leaving him alone to his thoughts and with his Cassandra. 

"Habiibii." He murmured, kneeling beside her. 

---- Cassandra ----

Cassandra felt as though she had been sleeping for years when she woke up finally, her body was aching from long days lying in bed and a headache was beginning to form behind her eyes. She seemed to be a sort of canvas tent, filled with dimmed sunlight that seemed to pulsate with energy, beside her was a warm body pressed intimately against her, only the head visible from where she lie. Dark hair spread out over his face, covering the contours of his elegant features, from the aristocratic, defined cheekbones to the soft vulnerable place where bruised circles surrounded his eyes. He looked pale but appeared almost child-like as he slept, his breathe soft and shallow as it played across the skin of her arm. One of his arms was thrown casually across her waist, not tight or loose and warm against the cloth of her nightgown, she shifted and purred softly in her throat, stretching a little to ease the discomfort. 

"You're awake." He said, his eyes slipping open, the lids raising to reveal his dark brown eyes. 

"Yeah." She said softly, smiling. 

"Thank, Allah." He whispered and hugged her. 

She returned the hug with the slightest bit of confusion. "Is something wrong?" 

"You slept a long time." 

She frowned, her brows sinking over her eyes. "How long did I sleep?" 

"Three days." 

"Three days!" she sat up quickly, wincing when her head spun and started to ache fiercely. "How is that possible?" 

Ardeth paused, wrapping one arm around her shoulders when he noticed the wince, he touched her cheek lightly with the other one in an oddly possessive gesture. "You were sick until last night, you had a fever but it finally broke yesterday afternoon. The doctor said that you would be fine." 

"Three days?" she said again, staring at him. 

"Yes." He nodded. 

She looked away and for a moment he thought he saw a flash of fear in her eyes but disregarded it. "You got any food?" she asked, looking back up with a bright smile. 

Ardeth returned the smile and laughed softly. "I'm sure we can find something." 

"Soup, if you don't mind." A sheepish look on her face told him she was still feeling the effects of her sickness. 

"I don't think that will be a problem." 

Lightly he kissed her cheek, brushing the hair off her forehead to press a gentle kiss there as well, her heart fluttered in her chest and something akin to love touched her, it was strange the way she was feeling. Cassandra watched Ardeth has he left the tent, leaving her alone to her thoughts, three days she had been asleep….. could he be lying? What would he have to gain from lying to her though? She frowned, and what were the feelings that made her thoughts scatter when he was around? She couldn't be feeling love, it was too soon, too…. Sudden for something so serious but what could it be? Lifting her knees she wrapped her arms around them and rested her chin on her knees, her eyes stayed concentrated on one spot of the blanket as thoughts trickled through, long ago she had learned the technique from her father. A technique that allowed the person to bring forward evasive thoughts and feeling, a sort of reliving she'd trained herself to do, not many understood it and even fewer knew how to do it. 

Desperately she hoped her job wasn't gone merely because she was sick, she hoped her boss would understand the predicament and forgive her because she loved what she did. Writing was her passion, writing current events for a major newspaper was the greatest love of her life, second only to her younger brother. It allowed her the freedom to right about what fired her up as well as the poetic freedom to describe what she saw in her mind. Unbidden flashes of memory involving Ardeth's body trickled through her mind, making her blush hard and just like that she slammed the door shut on them. Those were thoughts better left for when she was alone, and not within touching distance of the enigmatic man who had so thoroughly captured her interest. 

Curiosity about the man brought her back to her present status, sitting on a pallet with a blanket pooling around her feet wearing nothing but a sweaty nightgown and her long hair. She looked around the tent, finding that even though Ardeth appeared to be an important man, his tent was very modest, not too large and not too small but big enough for two people to live comfortably. Satchels with clothes and papers sticking out rested on a short wooden table with hinges in the middle for easy break down, a sword and a small arsenal of daggers rested beside the bags, lovingly wrapped in a soft linen, yellowed with age. On the other side of the tent was a heavy leather saddle with another few satchel bags attached along with a saddle dagger built secretly into the front near the pommel and a huge urn of which she assumed was filled with water. Finally she looked beside her where another pallet had been laid close to hers, giving the room the appearance of a married couple within, she smiled and blushed becomingly again. 

A moment later she frowned though when a long rolled up piece of parchment, slightly unfurled to reveal a name carefully etched into the ancient scroll, she leaned forward not quite believing her eyes. There on the parchment, just below a picture of a map was a signature in Hieroglyphics, Hatshepsut, confusing burst through her, that was the name that Khaldun had called her before dashing from his tent. What was this about? And who was Hatshepsut? A moment later, Cassandra still leaning over and looking at the name, Ardeth walked in with two bowls in his hand and a frown bridging his brows. 

"What are you doing?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the pallet, close to her but not too close. 

"The name." she murmured. "That name." she placed a finger on the edge of map, keeping a few centimeters away as to not damage the aged scroll. 

Ardeth leaned forward, placing the bowl on the ground next to the pallets and looked critically at the name. "Do you recognize it?"

"Khaldun called me it before he left." 

"Who is Khaldun?" he asked her. 

"He was the man who left the tomb when you so gallantly scooped me off my feet." 

Ardeth frowned. "That man's name, if he can even be considered a man, was Imhotep." 

Inspiration struck and has now lost itself in the patheticness of my mind, so I shall continue when I am struck again. 

I love you guys!

And Thanks for the reviews!

REVIEW THIS ONE TOO! 


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